43 Minutes with Sarah Lustbader

Photographing the artists of On the Boards

 

On a classically orchestrated rainy afternoon in Seattle, I met dancer Sarah Lustbader at a coffee house in an Upper Fremont neighborhood.  On my walk there, I made mental note and counted the overhangs in which I could tuck the beauty under to keep her out of the drizzle during our shoot: four. We ended up using two.

Sarah is an accomplished dancer and has collaborated with a well-respected list of artists including Robert Battle, Timothy Lynch, Donald McKayle, Michael Rioux and Deborah Wolf.  Her solo performance of Catherine Cabeen’s “Breeze” was mentioned in the New York Times, and her work in the much anticipated conclusion of KT Niehoff‘s year-long project “Collision Theory: The Finale” kicks off tonight at On the Boards.

I have not studied dance, nor have I photographed many dancers in my 15-year career as a photographer, so my approach to capturing Sarah in stills was based on my strength of capturing all artists: honest in the moment and most importantly, off-stage.  Even when I asked her to pose under an apartment complex carport, Sarah carried herself and conversation with grace, willing to trust me to capture her beauty through the damp, gray air that only true Seattleites can understand.

Without a doubt, Sarah was the beam of sunshine that brought light to this photo shoot. This is a statement I believe will ring true to all of her family and friends.

   

Go see Sarah Lustbader in KT Niehoff’s “Collision Theory: The Finale”!

Go see KT Niehoff‘s “Collision Theory: The Finale” at On the Board in Seattle, April 18th-21st, 2013.

 

Photography details